Rishikesh - Where to Stay, Eat (Swami Dayananda Ashram)

The sixth day of our trip to the Garhwal Himalayas, finally saw us in the plains… the very place from where we had embarked on this holy journey just a couple of days back – Rishikesh!

Rishikesh, the Land of the Sages, is a
celebrated spiritual town nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas with
the Holy River Ganga gently flowing besides it. It is believed that
when Raibya Rishi undertook rigorous penance, God appeared in the form
of ‘Hrishikesh’ and the area henceforth came to be known as Rishikesh. Besides being the starting point for the pilgrims undertaking the Char Dham Yatra, it is also famous as the ‘Yoga Capital of the World’ which draws a considerable rush to the town the entire year around.

Welcome to the 'Land of the Sages' - Rishikesh

If you are on a serious soul-searching mission, then
Rishikesh is the destination tailor-made just for you. People come here
to find a direction to their lives, connect to their inner selves and go
back home with pleasurable memories and a silent promise to return
again.Where to Stay, Eat in Rishikesh (Swami Dayananda Ashram)

Step in Rishikesh and you will see lots and lots of ashrams and hotels to stay, suited for a variety of different budgeted traveling pockets. Even though there are a clut of ashrams, one important thing to remember is to book your rooms well in advance especially during the season period since the town sees a lot of tourists not only from India but also from abroad for reasons quite clearly evident in the introductory paragraph.

A Board in the Swami Dayananda Ashram displaying the tithis, nakshatras

and other celestial details of the day

Although, we were to spend just a couple of hours in Rishikesh, still we had prebooked our room for freshening up at the Swami Dayananda Ashram.

Swami Dayananda Ashram

Spread in a huge sprawling area, it is a very humble and a serene place located in the middle of the town, still distant enough to make it calm, laid back retreat from the maddening touristy rush, also one of the things the town is notoriously known for.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati, a contemporary teacher of Vedanta

and a scholar in Sanskrit in the tradition of Sankara.

There
is no failure in life. There are only varieties of experiences. We
learn from experiences, and not from failure which does not exist -
Swami Dayananda

The rooms are amazingly very clean and well maintained for an ashram which has no fixed tariff! You don’t pay anything here but just make a donation!

Our room at the Swami Dayananda Ashram in Rishikesh

What’s more they also offer complementary lunch and dinner serving homelike, pure and satvik food which is cooked daily in the premises itself.

Dining Hall area of the Ashram

There is a well equipped library with CD’s and books written by Swami Dayananda himself, an ashram temple, a lecture/satsang hall where regular yoga courses and spiritual camps are held all round the year and a façade where you can stand and fill in your eyes and heart with the unending views of the River Ganga and the mountains.

View from the Ashram facade

Lord Shri Gangadhareswar Temple - Facing the Ganga River, is
the ashram temple wherein daily worship is offered by the visiting
devotees and the ashram sadhus and priests.

The Lord Shri Gangadhareswar Temple

at the Swami Dayananda Ashram in Rishikesh

Temple architecture

The main deity of Lord Shiva worshipped as Lord Gangadhareswar

An image inside the Temple representing the Twelve Jyotirlingams of Lord Shiva

An idol of Goddess Gauri, the consort of Lord Shiva in the temple

Besides the temple is the private ghat of the ashram which the resident
devotees can utilize to take a holy dip in the River Ganga.

Image from the blog archives, Year 2009

Private bathing ghat of Swami Dayananda Ashram

This time
the bridge was broken due to the floods

that had hit the town in Aug
2010

Of all the places that I have stayed in my travels so
far, Dayananda ashram is definitely one which is very close to my heart
and will always remain so!Dayanand Ashram trivia – An interesting fact I came to know about this ashram was that the South Indian Superstar actor, Rajnikanth also prefers to stay at this place whenever he is in the town!

71 comments:

Hi, Arti.You went fabulous places.Reading "there is no failure in life. We learn from experiences, and not from failure which doesn't exist." I was relieved.Architecture of Lord Shri Gangadhareswar Temple is very unique,very interesting and beautiful. I have heard about a holy dip. But I don't know it concretely. They do it to purify souls of themselves, I wonder?Thank you for sharing. Hope you are well!Sarah.

What an incredibly beautiful and peaceful place, Arti! I would so love to visit there! Your photos are superb and words so informative! Thank you, as always, for a wonderful tour! Hope your week is going well!

your descriptions make the food, the lodging, everything, sound delicious and worth experiencing. I'm intrigued by the dining/seating arrangements. it's all so...solemn and holy. very nice. peaceful. I'm happy you shared this today Arti. happy day to you.

Hi, Arti, thank you for the introduction of wonderful places. This time, I especially like the images of the sun's rays raditaing over the water and the glowing path across the water as well. Perfect captures!

I came accross your blog from blogadda. I see that you love travelling. I would be grateful if you could take a travel survey. It wouldnt take much of your time. I am looking at this survey to give some answers to some statistics I am looking for.

"If you are on a serious soul-searching mission, then Rishikesh is the destination tailor-made just for you. People come here to find a direction to their lives, connect to their inner selves and go back home with pleasurable memories and a silent promise to return again."

Very very true.

Your pious description of Rishikesh has stolenmy heart.I would like to perform 'aarti' to your this post,Arti ji.Many many thanks.

Please,find time to visit my blog.Would also like your views on 'devotion'and 'Shiv-ling'.

Looks very satvik! There's probably a very blissful and spiritual environment where one wants to stay a very long time! I 've heard that there is such a Rishikesh ashram nice, but I do not remember what it's called....

It's awesome to read ur blog ... i too also wanted to go for a trip to Rishikesh (n above) but always thought of where to stay n when to travel - now aleast i know where to stay !! i love to travel n ur blog is just what i want :)Thanks for visiting my blog !!

Ah this is pretty useful Arti! We are planning a Rishikesh trip sometime soon. Have read in a previous issue of Outlook Traveller about the six different types of accomodations available in Rishikesh.. from the five star ones to the Ashrams. And it's the latter that interested me too!PS: you can pick up your fave painted pot from me, the next time you're in Blore :P Thanks for the comments Arti!

You are a great guide, Arti - the trip to Dayananda ashram sounds peaceful and soul-renewing. Seeing the writing on the board makes me wonder how many languages you speak? You write in English so well.

Oh!! Swami Dayananda Ashram is a beautiful place. I loved the serenity, the calmness. I wanted to stay there for a few days. But, somehow, things couldn’t materialised. I was so impressed with the place, that I couldn’t like any other place to stay at Rishikesh, n finally went back to Haridwar in the evening. I’ll make another try in future for sure. If again, I couldn’t get to there, I’d go to the broken eggs at the other shore the Ganges.

I had stayed there for 10 days and but gone there everyday for three weeks before that, partaking of the food there and attending evening arti and vedanta classes, while staying outside the ashram. Lovely and serene.

Arti thanks for sharing such a wonderful place...as i am from Saharanpur(UP) I always make a short visit to Haridwar and Rishikesh also but I never went this place efore...but next time I will try for sure to visit the ashram.

Hi Susan,June can be quite hot but it is also the time when monsoon sets in. You should really call up at the ashram itself to know what kind of whether they are experiencing at the time when you plan to leave.

@ Anonymous (Nishant) Sorry Nishant, I am afraid I have no clue to your query. You may contact one of these numbers of their office (0135-2430769/1769) to check if they require any volunteering services. Good luck!

How tough is it to get the accommodation in the ashram, on arriving rishikesh. There may be a huge queue waiting for the accommodation, this being a nice place and many people might be looking forward to stay there.

hi aarti , i am visiting rishikesh in upcoming december for 2 days with my family (wife& mother ) can you please tell me how to book accomodation & what to tell them when booking .waiting for youe quick reply thanking you yogesh

What sort of donations are required to made.Is there any minimum amount one should pay.?Is it mandatory to donate.?once the rooms have been allocated, can one go out for sight seeing or shopping or a night out.?Let me know the minimum tenure one could stay in the Ashram.?

There is no minimum amount and nothing is mandatory, you are free to leave the room and return as you wish. This information is based on my personal experience which I had during my stay in the ashram in 2011. To verify the same and for more information, please contact the ashram authorities: 0135-2430769/1769. Hope this helps.

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Hi there! I am Arti - a 20 something girl with an inherited travel gene, often found on the road travelling with my best friend, inspiration and guide - my father. I love travelling to spiritual places and consider my external yatras as continuous learning journeys within; a journey where I seek to discover and experience the real treasures of this life someday. Besides helping my own self, this blog of mine also aims to help those planning to make a trip to these places or simply provide a virtual tour to the rest.
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